


wiegenlied: i don't usually try to prevent fate, but when i do...

by recoilshipping



Series: clôture and a wiegenlied (Aku no Monogatari AU) [5]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 00:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21027497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/recoilshipping/pseuds/recoilshipping
Summary: ai's dreams show him cryptic visions of the future. the one tinged in purple, the rest are unavoidable if that one comes to pass.





	wiegenlied: i don't usually try to prevent fate, but when i do...

The Queen of Lucifenia is dead.  
They weren't just this country's ruler, they weren't just my liege.  
They were my friend.  
One of only a few people who could be called such in all my centuries being alive.  
Today, they died.  
Other people dying isn't uncommon.  
Because I'm immortal, and they aren't.

Maybe I shouldn't have made friends.  
If it was just me,  
There wouldn't be anyone or anything that I have to cry for.  
I guess I was wrong when I thought that the last of my tears dried up centuries ago.

It's high time I depart from this country.  
So I won't be sad anymore.  
There won't be anything to make me sad.  
And I must complete the task given to me.  
I must find  
the "Vessels of Deadly Sin"-

* * *

  
_Ai Clockworker ~Lucifenian Palace, Hall of Mirrors~_

Entering the Hall of Mirrors, someone stands with their back towards me, gazing at the painting up on the ceiling.

The painting was titled "The King, The Queen, and the Three Heroes." In the center, the king holds his sword high, and the three heroes kneel in a semi-circle in front of him. By his side, holding a shield embossed with the crest of Lucifenia, stands the queen. Though that wasn't exactly historically accurate. Judai and Yubel hadn't met yet when those three heroes had agreed to fight in the service of the king. Regardless, out of love for his spouse Judai had asked for Yubel to be depicted alongside him in the painting. Yubel had loved this painting while they were alive.

She doesn't seem to have noticed me walking up behind her, dagger drawn. She's usually the most vigilant person I know, has she lost herself to the memories held in the painting?

Closing the distance between us, I raised the dagger gripped in my right hand high to drive it into her unsuspecting back.

**-WHACK-**

There's suddenly a sharp pain in my right wrist.

The dagger skitters across the polished floor. It had been kicked right out of my hand. Well played, Emma. Well played.

"Emmie that was raw as fuuuck. Like freshly butchered."

It's one of my lamer jests, I admit, but Emma looks particularly unimpressed today.

"What are you trying to do, Ai?"

"Not much, it's just that since Yubel is dead I figured that it was time for me kill everyone I know then leave Lucifenia. You know, the usual things. Clean-up, if I were to put it into your maid terms."

Emma picked up the dagger from the floor. "You can't kill people with a wooden toy knife," she said, examining it. Pushing the blade caused it to retract back into the handle, like a clicker pen. "Though this is a pretty sophisticated toy."

"Thaaannks. I was going to kill you with it."

"But ya didn't~"

"Awwww but Emmie~" I whine.

"Awwww but Ai-Ai~" she pouts back, and we laugh.

"Bad jokes aside, what do you mean 'leave Lucifenia'?" Emma asks.

"Exactly that. Judai is dead, now Yubel is dead, and they were my employers, so there's really no reason for me to stay."

I've been in the service of Lucifenia for over 20 years now, and during that time due to the efforts of its monarchs the country became the richest on the continent, and had been able to extend its territory quite nicely as well. But even those things hadn't prevented the Gula disease from taking the lives of Judai and Yubel. First it struck Judai, about nine years ago. Yubel then reigned for a while, implementing domestic policies to better protect existing territories rather than just keep gaining new ones.

"To better protect what Judai left behind," they had said. But a few days ago, they succumbed to the very same illness as their beloved husband.

Now it's just me, Go, and Emma.

Go had risen through the ranks from a common soldier to being one of the king and queen's most trusted retainers, and thus was now the captain of the royal guard.

I first met Emma back when she was still a little girl. She'd been trained for combat even then, a ruthless assassin. But now she had retired from active combat duty, and was serving as the palace's head maid.

"Ai, you haven't changed, have you?"

"Just a part of the perks of being an all-powerful sorcerer."

"Clearly. When we first met you were already an adult, but you haven't aged a day since then. If it isn't magic then all we can do is wonder what it is."

"Want me to tell you how I do it?"

"Why do I just know that you'd send me an enormous fetch quest to try and find out, and then not give me a proper answer anyway?"

"Oh come on Emmie I'm not thaaaat cruel."

"Sure you're not. But seriously, neither your appearance or your personality has matured at all."

"Or has it?"

"...Back to what I was saying earlier. This country still needs your help, it's too early for you to leave."

"But it's been over 20 years, surely that's more than enough time."

"To get most things settled with the Beelzenian Empire, yes. But there's still tensions with Asmodean and Elphegort. Prince Windy is 15 but he still acts like he's just a little child. Your magic is still needed here."

My magic...

I'm the only person I know of that can use magic in this country. Most people don't believe in it anymore, save for those that know me.

Despite this, I told her, "Just find another sorcerer."

"You know that's impossible. You're the best."

"Mmmmmm I am the best. Tell you what," I pretend to rack my brains but I already had an answer. "I'll just train up a new sorcerer to take my place working here."

"Like an apprentice? But who knows how long it'll take to properly train someone..."

"Pfft, as long as there's innate magical talent it should only take say, 2, 3 years tops."

"Do you know someone with innate magical talent?"

"Oh so poor Ai is replaced just like that," I say dramatically, bringing the back of my hand to my forehead and feign swooning.

"Aren't you the one who wanted to leave?" Emma looks at me skeptically, but then her focus shifts behind me. Someone else has walked into the hall. A palace servant, Miyu.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Lady Emma. Sir Go is looking for you. He's says he's brought a new servant who's going to start working here."

"Ah, that was today. I'll be there. We'll finish this conversation another time, Ai." Emma and Miyu left the hall.

Miyu Bessho, Emma's adopted daughter. Though you'd never be able to guess just from looking at them. Maybe that's how Emma raised her, or maybe that was Miyu's personality.

I was about to exit the Hall of Mirrors as well, when Prime Minister Bohman entered.

"Lord Ai, where are you headed?" he asks.

"To Elphegort. I'm going to look for an apprentice."

"Apprentice? But if you're crossing the border I'll ready some soldiers to escort you."

"Don't bother. They'll just slow me down." And I hurry to leave before Bohman can try to continue the conversation.

2 or 3 years, though I claimed that's how long it would take to train a new sorcerer it might not be enough time.

I might've been too bold, making that claim. Maybe I can still leave like nothing happened.

I've never tried so hard to change fate before.

It doesn't happen a lot, but sometimes my dreams show me glimpses of the future. A specific detail, with no way to discern how it would happen, or why, or when.

My gut feeling tells me that these ones will occur sooner than I like, if everything keeps on the way it has.

That Lucifenia will be destroyed.

* * *

  
_Ai Clockworker ~Elphegort, Millennium Tree Forest~_

Naschian is the main religion of most of the continent, with most people belonging to the Nasch sect. Though there are other sects, they don't have nearly as many followers. Here in Elphegort the Sunavalon sect has managed to escape fading into ambiguity. This country is where their most sacred place was located after all; an enormous tree, said to be the land god Sunavalon herself manifesting in a form visible to humans.

This forest was once called Sunavalon's Forest, but the previous king of Elphegort changed the name to the more secular "Millennium Tree Forest."

"Fewer and fewer pilgrims come to visit," my old friend laments.

Her large canopy of leaves droop a bit, but you'd still have trouble seeing the blue of the sky through them. Her trunk had deep groves in the bark, like it was forming the wrinkled face of an elderly woman. The face of the Millennium Tree, the land god Sunavalon.

"I'm not here to listen to you complain, old fart. What did you decide about my request?"

"Impatient as ever... To reincarnate a spirit to be one of your disciples and learn magic, hm."

Between my abrupt appearance and request Sunavalon doesn't seem very thrilled.

But the spirits that live in the forest with Sunavalon have more talent for magic than any human that's been born in centuries. This would be the best way to get a student; to turn a spirit into a human.

"It's an extraordinary idea, and it wouldn't be impossible for you, since reincarnation magic is one of your specialties, Ai."

"Yes yes I'm brilliant. Now call two or three of the spirits over," I demand.

There's no time to waste scouring far and wide for an apprentice, if I want to change Lucifenia's fate then I need someone else with enough magic to help me do it.

"Lucifenia is so powerful and wealthy, I can't imagine how your prediction could come true," Sunavalon muses.

"I think it might be due to the 'Demons of Deadly Sin'."

"Demons of Deadly Sin." From this very forest the "Original Sin" was divided into seven, then scattered across the world. Inside each "Vessel of Deadly Sin" was a demon.

"Indeed people possessed by Demons of Deadly Sin caused huge incidents before, but the prince of Lucifenia, Windy is his name, no? Didn't you exorcise him already?"

Judai and Yubel had been blessed with twin children. When Windy was 6, I'd discovered that he'd been possessed by a "Demon of Deadly Sin."

At that time, Judai had been recently deceased and it was written in his will that Amostia, the younger twin, was chosen to be his successor, with Yubel governing until the child grew up. Because Judai had usurped the traditions of succession, one of ministers, Kitamura, objected and claimed that Windy, the elder twin, was the rightful heir.

So began conflict amongst the ministers, those loyal to tradition and those loyal to Judai.

Kitamura had gotten his hands on a "Vessel of Deadly SIn," and had Windy possessed to act as a puppet ruler while he controlled the country behind the scenes. Later I'd find out that his original target was Amostia, and that he didn't really care which child the demon possessed as long as he was able to rule Lucifenia. The other child he'd planned to have assassinated anyway.

And so it was publicly announced that Prince Amostia died.

The only problem left was to deal with the demon possessing Prince Windy. Using extraction magic I tore the demon from his soul, but as a side effect he'd lost most of his memory. I'd also found a little hand mirror that had been the demon's "vessel," and foolishly thought that was the end of that.

"I got rid of one demon from Windy. Unfortunately, now that he's grown up a bit another one has taken residence, and it's ingrained itself even further into his soul. If I tried to use extraction magic again he'd probably lose more than his memories, if it worked at all."

"So you want to use the 'Clockwork Secret Art'...."

"Trying to perform that spell by myself is too tricky, so I need an apprentice."

"Manipulating space-time to make it easier to exorcise the demon, there is a lot that could go wrong. Worst case scenario, you'll end up destroying another country."

"I know, but that won't happen."

"You're very confident in your skills. Perhaps overly so."

"Hey I have earned my bragging rights. Our bigger concern is how Windy got possessed again. The extraction magic worked, so why?"

"It could be that the problem lies with the demon and the vessel, not with your spell-casting."

"I'm not following."

"Someone might've divided a vessel into pieces, letting the demon escape from one piece to another."

"So this mirror is only one out of who knows how many?"

I took the hand mirror out of my pocket. Windy said he found it at the beach, but it's more likely that was a set-up by Kitamura. I'd wrapped a paper talisman around it to seal it, so it couldn't be used as a mirror anymore.

"Maybe. But we have no way of knowing for sure."

"Either way, I can't let this end like the other incidents."

Sunavalon tasked me with collecting all the "Vessels of Deadly Sin" about 500 years ago, but I've spent more time goofing off than actually collecting them. I'd accepted the quest because I thought it would be something to do to fill time. Knowing that the tragedies could've been prevented if I had been just a bit more dutiful...

I'm suprised Sunavalon hasn't gotten someone else to find the vessels.

"Ai, go over the details of your prophetic dreams again."

"There's four of them. A public square where Prince Windy is being sent to the guillotine, the palace surrounded by a mob, Lucifenian troops invading Elphegort, and Emma's bleeding corpse in the palace garden."

"And the purple one?"

"It's the third, where Elphegort is attacked. If that happens then I can't change the rest."

My dreams show me cryptic visions of the future. The one tinged in purple, the rest are unavoidable if that one comes to pass. That being said, if I can prevent the purple one than maybe fate won't play out as it was revealed to me.

"I see. What will you do if your plan fails?"

"Leave the country so I don't get caught in the fallout."

"That's just like you. Even though..."

Suddenly a strong breeze starts blowing, muffling her words so I couldn't understand them.

"Speak clearly, damn it."

"You don't want to keep watching your friends die, so you'd rather run away. Just like when 'Zero Reverse' happened in Levianta."

"Shut up!" I punched Sunavalon's trunk, but it hurt my hand more than it bothered Sunavalon.

"Ai, countries come and go. Maybe it's natural that Lucifenia not exist anymore. "

"I know, if it's ruin was internal that'd be one thing. But if it's because of a 'Vessel of Deadly Sin,' isn't it my responsibility to try and stop it?"

"So you do have some sense of duty after all... As for who would make a good apprentice for you, I think I'll sleep on that for a while." She yawns.

"Don't you dare go to sleep on me, we are not done talking!"

I punched her trunk again, but it was no use. Once she falls asleep, she's asleep. She might not wake up again for an entire month.

"Useless old hag!" I was mad, so I started kicking at Sunavalon's roots until something hit the back of my head.

Looking down, it was an acorn. Now, who threw that?

"Stop bullying Sunavalon!"

The voice was from high in the tree branches. Looking up, there's a small bird and next to him, a chipmunk holding another acorn. The usual suspects caught red handed.

"Earth, Roboppy. I'm not bullying, we just had a little disagreement."

Earth and Roboppy are two of the spirits that live in the forest and serve Sunavalon. By borrowing Sunavalon's power, they can assume the appearance of woodland creatures and interact with objects, otherwise being intangible and invisible.

But you'd still need to be able to use magic to talk with them, or they'd just sound like animals.

"Violence is wrong, Ai." says Roboppy, the chipmunk.

"You may say that, but you managed to throw that acorn pretty hard."

"Thanks." they say as they set the acorn in their paws down.

"It's not a compliment."

Sunavalon snores peacefully.

"Looks like she won't wake up any time soon. I'll come back another day."

Earth, the bird, flies down to perch on my shoulder.

"You should hurry off. I think there might be a person walking this way," he says.

"Oh, no need for me to be shy. It's probably just a pilgrim or a passerby. Though you can hide in some leaves if you're still afraid of humans."

"They're not scary, I'm just unfamiliar with them."

"Do you want to know more about humans?"

"A little," he whispers, then he flew back amongst the leaves and branches.

I bid the spirits farewell, and made my way back onto the path to return to Lucifenia.

Along the way, I saw a boy holding a basket and picking fruit from some bushes a bit off the path. That must be who Earth had sensed before. I hid behind a tree, waiting for him to leave first.

He had white hair, and a bruise on his arm. Looking closer, fresh and fading bruises were speckled across his skin.

"Why do people hate me? Why do they think I'm weird?" I heard him say as he walked past my hiding spot.

...He can figure it out himself. He seems smart enough.

Maybe Sunavalon is right. Maybe I do just run away.

Once the boy is out of sight, I hurry along the path back to the palace. Can't give Emma and Go an excuse to lecture at me again.

**Author's Note:**

> translations sourced are [closure-of-yellow](https://closure-of-yellow.tumblr.com) AND   
[weigenlied-of-green](https://wiegenlied-of-green.tumblr.com)


End file.
